New Obama ad 'Firms' attacks Romney on job record, finances

A new Obama campaign ad continues the unrelenting attack on Romney's Bain record and his finances. The ad repeats charges against Romney that Bain outsourced jobs and that Romney has investments in Switzerland, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

The Associated Press reports that even as Romney's campaign accuses the Obama campaign of diverting voter's attention from the poor economy,Obama's campaign planners say that during his campaign in Virginia he will continue to remind voters about the discrepancies between SEC filings and Romney's claims about his role at Bain Capital.

According to AP, SEC documents show that Romney was in charge of Bain from 1999 to 2001, a period in which Bain outsourced jobs and ran companies in bankruptcy. Romney has countered, saying he was at the head of the company but did not manage it as it transitioned to new ownership at the time. Bain Capital also released a statement, saying Romney "remained the sole stockholder for a time while formal ownership was being documented and transferred to the group of partners who took over management of the firm in 1999."

The Hill reports that claims that Romney personally profited from helping American businesses send jobs overseas intensified after a report in the Boston Globe raised questions on the exact time Romney disengaged from Bain. The report said SEC filings show that contrary to Romney's claim, he continued to manage the company after 1999.

The new Obama ad shows the GOP presidential candidate singing "America the Beautiful," with the comment: "Mitt Romney's not the solution. He's the problem." According to The Hill, while Romney sings, the ad runs clips from news reports highlighting Romney's tenure at Bain, with images of shuttered factories and empty assembly lines. Other headlines refer to Romney's offshore holdings.

Obama campaign challenges Romney's campaign claim that as a former businessman he has the right background to create jobs and revive the economy. Obama campaign counters that Romney has no relevant record or experience in job creation, he only ran a company that pioneered the practice of sending American jobs overseas.

The new ad will run in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The release of the video is timely because it comes when pressure is mounting on Romney to release tax returns for several years. But Romney continues to insist he won't release his tax returns before 2010. His opponents continue asking, what is Romney hiding from voters?

Romney is on the defensive, saying that Obama owes him an apology for a statement by one of his aides that if the SEC filings are false it could bring a felony charge against Romney. Romney told ABC: "This is simply beneath the dignity of the presidency of the United States." According to The Hill, Romney said: "He sure as heck ought to say that he’s sorry for the kinds of attacks that are coming from his team. If I were president of the United States I would put a stop to it and apologize to my campaign for what has been done by his.”

But according to AP, Republican strategist John Weaver, said: "There is no whining in politics. Stop demanding an apology, release your tax returns."

Obama has defended the relentless onslaught on Romney, saying: “I think most Americans figure if you are the chairman, CEO and president of a company that you are responsible for what that company does." He added: "Ultimately, I think, Mr. Romney is going to have to answer those questions because if he aspires to being president, one of the things you learn is you're ultimately responsible for the conduct of your operations."

Romney has fired back, accusing Obama of playing what he called "Chicago-style politics." According to The Hill, Romney campaign spokesman Amanda Henneberg, in a statement, said:

“As the failures of his presidency become more evident, Barack Obama has resorted to the tactics of a typical politician – dishonest and totally unsubstantiated attacks meant to distract from his own record by smearing the reputation of his opponent.The Obama campaign appears to be stuck in their own ‘groundhog day,’ repeating the same, debunked charges they’ve waged for weeks in an effort to distract voters from this administration’s failure to fix the economy and create jobs. Americans deserve a president they can trust, and not someone willing to say and do anything to win an election.”